


You Know.

by irethelendil



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Real Person Fiction, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, Male-Female Friendship, Older Woman/Younger Man
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-03
Updated: 2019-07-03
Packaged: 2020-06-03 11:50:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19463398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/irethelendil/pseuds/irethelendil
Summary: Maude Gonzales was just smoking outside the gymnasium, minding her own business until she turns around and sees Thomas Stanley Holland. The 23-year old superstar. Also the 23-year old kid who probably has something better to do than tell a 32-year old to lower her risk of getting throat cancer. Tom was a regular at the circus school she taught at. He would be there 3-4 times a week, training for almost half a day, possibly preparing for the next Spiderman movie. They would see each other often, acknowledged each other with nods and smiles, nothing more than that.Until today.





	You Know.

“You know, you’ve been burning up your lungs a lot since the day started and it isn’t even lunch time yet”, a voice from behind crept up from behind her as she smoked in her usual spot behind the gymnasium. 

Maude rolled her eyes. She didn’t need to hear this today. 

It’s been a year since her knee started to catch up to her age. Her boss told her to be more consistent with her physical therapy but she needed to earn money. She needed to keep performing and teaching, leaving no time for herself. But today at work, during one of her private sessions, she just suddenly fell to the ground, right knee collapsing, as if someone had pushed her from the back of her knee. Her student asked her if she was okay, she said she just needed to power through their session. 

“You know, you can be less creepy and stop counting down my days.” She rolled her eyes, took one last drag and threw her cigarette into a puddle. She turned around and saw the last person she expected to be there. 

Thomas Stanley Holland. The 23-year old superstar. Also the 23-year old kid who probably has something better to do than tell a 32-year old to lower her risk of getting throat cancer. Tom was a regular at the circus school she taught at. He would be there 3-4 times a week, training for almost half a day, possibly preparing for the next Spiderman movie. They would see each other often, acknowledged each other with nods and smiles, nothing more than that. 

Until today. 

“Oh it’s you. My apologies.”, her face going softer. “That was very rude of me.” 

“Rough day?”, Tom asks. Maude points to her knee. “What happened?”

“This one collapsed today, while I was teaching one of my students.” Tom winced. “Buckled just like that.” 

“My turn to say “my apologies”, he said with a sincere smile. A smile that had both pity and comfort. 

If there was one thing Maude didn’t really enjoy, it was people feeling sorry for her. She had always been a self-reliant woman. Moved to London when she was 18 to pursue her circus dreams. She was a dancer and a gymnast. Moving made her feel like she was flying. Moving around, dancing, climbing and swinging made her feel like she was not of this world. After several years of being with an independent group of circus performers, she decided to apply for one of London’s circus schools as an instructor and marketing officer. By 25, she was one of the senior performers and had been promoted to Marketing Director. 

She was driven but also very closed off to people who tried to get into her space. The very same reason why she had to leave New York. She needed to breathe. From her family, from her friends, from the people who thought they knew better. 

Maude noticed that she had gotten to wrapped up in her thoughts while she was looking at her knee. “Sorry, it’s Maude, by the way.”, she held her hand out for Tom to shake. 

“I know who you are.” He shakes her hand. “Tom.”

“I know who you are.” She says with a smirk. “So what brings you to this side of the gym? This has been my spot for years but I’ve never seen you here. You don’t smoke. So you must have another reason unless you’re here to sneak in a blunt or two. Don’t worry, I don’t judge. Bit of an advocate of recreation myself.” 

Tom gets something from his pocket and hands it over to Maude. “You left this inside” He hands her a phone. “I asked Mr. Hadley where I could find you and he said I’d most probably find you here. So tada!” 

“Oh shit. Thank you Tom. Sorry. Mind’s just been all over the place. I needed to rush out to smoke so I can find my peace.” 

He smiles, a very charming one at that. “It’s no big deal, really.”

“You’re a good kid.”, Maude winks. 

“Hey who you calling kid?!” Tom says mockingly. 

“Oh darling, I’m almost a decade older than you.” Maude laughs as she brings out another cigarette and lights it up “do you mind?” Tom shakes his head. 

Tom stays silent for a second, then his eyes widen. “Wait what?! I thought you were at most two years older than me! How is that possi—“

“Asian genes, luv. Asian genes. Plus the cigarette smoke that grazes my skin gives me that extra glow”, they both laugh. 

“I hope I age that well. Without the smoking bit”, he says. Maude raises her eyebrow. “Just kidding”, Tom snickers.

“I’m pretty lucky that I can still fool people with my false youth but my body is saying otherwise.” 

Tom looks at her from head to toe. “I think your body can speak for itself.” He winks. Maude laughs and takes a puff. 

“Bullshit.

Truth is, Tom has been eyeing her for quite some time now. Okay, quite some time is an understatement. He’s been eyeing her for years. Always watching her perform and teach. She was so dedicated to her craft and very compassionate when it comes to her students. He has always wanted to approach her but never found the courage to do so, because she was always surrounded by people. Whenever she would train some of her floor routines, he would watch by the bleachers. He wanted to learn from her too. He wanted to know what it was like to have a gentle coach who knew how to give tough love. 

“Babe, you’ve been staring. You okay?” Maude waves her hand in front of Tom’s face. The young man gets startled and quickly regains his composure. 

“Hey Maude, I’m done for the day and I’m actually quite famished. Would you want to join me for early dinner?”, Tom asks confidently and it actually surprised him. Sometimes, he catches himself offguard. 

“Sure. Let me just finish this stick then we can go.”, she responds casually. “What do you feel like eating?” 

“Curry!”, he said. Probably a little bit too loud. 

“Oh wow somebody loves curry a lot!” she laughs. She had an infectious laugh. Tom turned red because of his declaration of love the dish. “Hey it’s cool. I was actually craving for some curry too and you know what, I think I might just know the perfect place.” She ditches her cigarette. “Would you be game to walk? It seems like a nice later afternoon to walk. Unless you can’t be seen in public with another member of the female contingent.” 

“I would usually say that’s not a big deal but I was going to suggest that we take my car NOT because I can’t be “seen in public with another member of the female contingent”, Tom says, air quotes and all, “but because you need to lessen the work on your knee especially after what happened today.” 

Maude frowns. She forgot about that. “Right.” She sighs. “Okay.” And just like that she switches to a jolly mode. “Let’s not let me and my highly emotional state right now get in the way of us getting really awesome curry tonight! Lead the way, kid!”

“Hey stop calling me kid!”, Tom says, as they both walk towards his car. “Also I’m not leading the way, I’m walking right by you. You seem to need some help, little limpy girl.” Tom offers his arm for Maude to hold onto.

“Little limpy girl? Really? That’s the best you can do?”, Maude raises her eyebrow and then casually slips her arms into Tom’s. 

“It’s been a long day and I’m hungry. If you can’t keep up with my pace, I’ll carry you all the way to the car”

“Cut it. We’re not on that level of friendship yet.”, she remarks. 

“Oh yet? Which means we’re friends now?” Tom looks at her with beaming eyes. “Yeah sure, whatever.” Maude rolls her eyes yet again but this time with a big smile on her face.


End file.
